Bizarre Foods - China Edition

It seems like no trip to China is complete without pictures of the assortment of critters that passes for food there. So here is, without further ado, the list of items that I tried, or almost tried, on my China trip, in order of edibility.

First on my list is crispy-fried scorpion. According to Chinese medicine, scorpions are good for your immune system, and as someone who's prone to colds and flus it would be stupid of me not to take advantage of it.

These scorpions are on average about two inches long. The vendor peddles her ware live on the street. Once you placed your order, she picks up the scorpions you designated with chopsticks and dropped them into a bowl of water. After letting them stew for a minute she drops them into a pot of boiling oil, which smells like a combination of peanut and sesame oil.

They're actually not bad. Since they're so small and deep fried they felt crunchy throughout and have none of the mushiness that most people fear about insects. The texture is similar to the skin of fried chicken.

If you don't like your scorpions deep fried you can try them roasted. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to.

Since Qingdao is a coastal city, it's known for its seafood. One of the local favorites is octopus, which you can get super-fresh (think squirming) at the local supermarket.

You can also get roasted silkworm pupa at the local supermarket, shrinkwrapped like sushi.

These are, without a doubt, the foulest smelling things I have placed in my mouth. The mashed-potato-like texture didn't help.

Call me narrow minded, but I had to draw the line at echinoderms. In fact, the only places that sell these things are found in tourist areas. Maybe an enterprising local fisherman came up with this scam where he gets to dispose of his bycatch while at the same time separate gullible foreigners from their hard earned cash.